


The Power of a Hockey Stick

by harvroth



Series: Milestones of Bob and Alicia Zimmermann [8]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: F/M, Hockey Stick Shopping, Tantrum, Terrible Twos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-12
Updated: 2017-03-12
Packaged: 2018-10-03 05:37:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10237031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harvroth/pseuds/harvroth
Summary: "The ones he's reaching for right now," the guy, Taylor she noted, laughed nervously and, of course, Jack would know his hockey sticks better than Alicia. She rolled her eyes, before bending to pick Jack up and also slipping a black stick out that indeed said was for two year olds. Jack's eyes followed it the whole way, a big grin on his face as Alicia held it out for him. He wasted no time in taking it from her and hugging it.





	

**Author's Note:**

> (Prompt generously suggested by do-I-have-to-have-a-www-dot xox) I love toddler tantrums I had to write this, though I'm not sure how good a job I did, I hope you enjoy anyway!  
> (My tumblr is claycro please throw some more Alicia/Bob (pre-Jack or post-Jack i'm happy with either) prompts at me xxx  
> Although I worry I'm going to start boring you with this series.  
> Also I forget Alicia is famous!  
> I started writing this again what feels like a million times and I pray it didn't end up the disaster it started!

**Tuesday, 24th of November 1992**

  
Alicia really could do without a massive tantrum from her son right now, but, three months after his second birthday, he’d hit the terrible twos and a tantrum could, and would, strike at anytime. Yesterday Jack had thrown himself on the floor and screamed because Alicia had looked at him while he was trying to sneakily take his clothes off after she’d just fought to put them on (the day before Bob had been hit full force because he wouldn't let Jack eat any peanut butter).

Today, it was in the shopping centre, while Alicia was doing some last minute thanksgiving shopping. Jack had wanted to stop and talk to a teddy bear that he’d seen in a window, but they really didn’t have the time, Alicia’s parents were landing in two hours and Bob was still travelling home from his last roadie so he couldn’t pick them up (she wished they were just coming in with her brother and his family, it would have saved her a whole lot of stress). Alicia had, wrongfully she admitted, volunteered to pick them up, not even considering, last week, that she’d be on a mad dash to get the food in to be able to prepare it tomorrow with an infant who would scream at the drop of a hat.

Alicia just knew that as soon as she’d said, “Jack, sweetie, we have to go,” and he turned to look at her with a furrowed brow that she didn’t have long, and she _had_ to say the right things.

“Jack,” she said a little firmer, but not enough to sound as if she was scolding him, “let’s go, we can come and chat with him another day.”

He turned back to look at the teddy and Alicia thought she’d won but then she saw his face drop and proceed to scrunch up and Alicia just let out a long exhale, because now she just had seconds before -

“Mummy, noooo.” Jack wailed, dropping to his knees in front of the glass, throwing his head back and just looking so utterly dramatic that Alicia couldn’t help but feel a little amused, as always (she also used the time to wonder where the little angel who could take no with a shrug she'd had for 27 months was and hoped this was just a phase). Only today, she did not have the time to sit and be amused for long. She couldn't sit and wait and watch him sob incoherent words that no doubt translated to "I hate my parents" in his own head, and wait for the tantrum to pass.

Although Jack always managed to look cute even with snot and tears streaming down his face, and even more while sat in his dark dungarees roaring over a teddy, she had only an hour to get the shopping done and sorted and a further hour after that to get to the airport and Jack could tantrum for forty minutes at his best and they did not have the time.

"Jack, darling, _please_ ," Alicia couldn't believe she was pleading with a two year old who had now moved from his knees at the sound of his cruel mother's voice, onto his stomach and was pressing his cheek into the floor, which was not even muffling his cries in the slightest.

 _Be patient. Wait for him to come to you. Fifteen minutes isn't too long and that is generally how long his tantrums usually are._ Alicia chanted internally, to the soundtrack of her son. Until Jack called out another almighty " _mummy_!" and, nope, they did not have the time for this.

So, for once, instead of waiting (which tended to take less time but was still more time than she had), she braced herself before bending down to scoop him up. That was, as expected, quite a feat, Jack tensed as soon as Alicia reached under his armpits and writhed and screamed more and god Alicia could just feel people staring at her judgementally (if someone didn't parent the way you did it was wrong apparently).

Jack, who was facing away from Alicia, was trying his damned hardest to both squirm out of her arms and to hit her at the same time, which he succeeded in a few times, getting a few lipstick prints on his knuckles in the process.

Calmly, Alicia just carried on walking, he'd get tired eventually, it required quite a lot of effort wailing to a whole audience, evidently less effort for a two year old than for a thirty year old. Though Bob could throw quite a tantrum on the ice.

Only five minutes had passed of relentless protests when he came to a halt. Just stopped abruptly. This was completely unusual - he always stopped gradually, when he was starting to get tired and realised his performance was futile, just like a wind up toy.

Alicia stopped in her tracks too, a tiny bit startled, and twisted him around in her arms to check he was okay. Bizarrely, despite the red puffy eyes and the tear tracks, there was a little smile on his face, though Alicia barely got time to examine him as he strained to look behind him as soon as he was on his mum's hip. Something had caught his attention and comforted him, that much was clear.

She looked up to see if she could discover the source of toddler happiness when, of course, Jack was pointing straight at the sports shop where a whole lot of hockey sticks were being displayed. It was too ridiculous to be true, surely. The mere sight of hockey sticks had calmed him down so quickly Alicia had whip lash. Walking towards the shop she only confirmed that it was, indeed, the hockey sticks that had put a stop to his crying. The closer they got, the more enthusiastically Jack was pointing. By the time they'd actually reached the shop Jack was bouncing on her hip and reaching across as if he could pick one up.

Alicia laughed incredulously. Jack had barely been on the ice yet she suddenly had no doubt that this little boy was going to be a hockey player (that much had been suspected when, since being six months old, had liked shouting at the tv whenever hockey was on).

As glad as she was that Jack was now giggling, however, she wasn't sure she was willing to carry around a hockey stick while shopping to keep him happy, but she dreaded walking away in case they had another tantrum. Which seemed likely considering Jack was more attached to the collection of sticks than he was to the big orange teddy he'd found not ten minutes ago.

"'Ockey?" He said, looking at Alicia with wide pale blue eyes, his arm still outstretched towards the window, his palm pressed against the glass. Gosh he was so cute, wait until she told Bob about this.

"Yes, baby, hockey," she breathed softly as he turned to look back around, shifting himself so his forehead was pressed against the glass next to his little chubby fingers. This was even worse than the teddy, Alicia thought as she stroked the hair that was very nearly Bob's colour after coming out bleach blond, there was no way they'd be able to walk away tantrum free.

While Alicia barely ever gave into Jack when he screamed, she wanted to get through the shopping quickly, no stress. It wouldn't hurt to indulge him for once would it?

"'Ockey, mummy," he repeated happily, and okay, just this once.

"Let's go and have a look at hockey sticks then," she said, backing up and headed into the entrance before Jack could up put up a fight. Perhaps, Alicia thought, she should still be stressed and hurried, especially now she was detouring into a sports shop of all places, but she was still too relieved Jack had settled and also just too amused, and in love, that it was, again, a hockey place to have done it.

"H-Hi, how may I help you?" She was asked a few steps into the shop. The teenage male who had asked looked a little wide eyed as he stared at her, a blush painting his cheeks and his fingers wringing together. He looked like he was trying to refrain himself from asking for an autograph, because she was Alicia Zimmermann or because she was Bad Bob Zimmermann's wife she wasn't sure, but she would appreciate him not doing. She was all for fan loving, just not today.

She smiled warmly, silently communicating that she didn't want to be fussed over today.

"Have you got any children's hockey sticks please?" She glanced at Jack who was staring around the shop in wonder, the way he did when he was in a toy shop, his hand clenching around Alicia's straps and his legs kicking gently at her waist in content. Her heart squeezed because he really was very adorable.

"Yes of course, this way?" The very polite boy sounded unsure of himself but she followed him anyway. It was only around the corner, a few steps to get to the hockey sticks, the children's closer.

As soon as Jack caught sight of them he gasped and wriggled, so Alicia put him down and, thankfully, he went straight for the children's sticks and not the adults, staring at them in awe.

"Which are suitable for two year olds?" She asked, watching as Jack reached for one on the end, stroking it, looking far too much like a mini Bob than he ever had before, did not have any clue about hockey sticks, what was best for what or which was the nicest. Bob really should be purchasing Jack's first hockey stick, but needs must and all that.

"The ones he's reaching for right now," the guy, Taylor she noted, laughed nervously and, of course, Jack would know his hockey sticks better than Alicia. She rolled her eyes, before bending to pick Jack up and also slipping a black stick out that indeed said was for two year olds. Jack's eyes followed it the whole way, a big grin on his face as Alicia held it out for him. He wasted no time in taking it from her and hugging it.

"We'll take it please," Alicia said, conscious of the time. If it was the wrong stick, Bob could bring him back. He'd love that.

Taylor smiled, still looking nervous, before taking them to the counters. Luckily the transaction was quick, Jack only letting go of it long enough for it to be scanned, and they were soon out of the shop, 10 minutes behind schedule which was still relatively manageable.

Maybe a little more manageable if she did not have a child on her hip wafting a stick around, but she could work with it. Though she cursed herself a million times over for forgetting his pram in the car. She'd been rushing so much she'd gotten Jack out of his seat, locked the car and walked off before she could remember to bring it, it would have helped largely for that she was sure.

But they could get through the shop in time, Alicia reassured herself. Jack was happily distracted and definitely not due for another tantrum for a while. Alicia could power through yet.

**_/•\\_/•\\_/•\\_/•\\_**

Surprisingly, Alicia got through the whole shopping good for time. Helped massively by the fact her son was endlessly enthralled by his brand new stick, chattering away to it the whole way through the shop, following his mum mindlessly.

It was clear that Jack already had some sort of connection to ice hockey - it was in his blood, after all. Though Alicia's mother did not approve of the hockey player blood type, having the same opinion that Alicia had before she'd gone and fallen in love with a hockey player. Alicia's opinions had been replaced. Her mother's hadn't.

Alicia loved her mum, really, she just couldn't help the satisfaction and pride she felt in her little boy already rebelling against his grandmother.

Running on time, Alicia was suddenly eager to pick her parents up, ready to proudly display her husband's mini me and his new best friend.

She also couldn't wait for Bob to see it either - this evening was going to be fun!

**Author's Note:**

> The first time I wrote Good Bob, Alicia's parents were featured heavily in it and I keep forgetting you don't know how I wrote them so I'm just gonna do a tiny description here for whenever they feature which you don't have to know but it's here anyway. (I don't think there's anything about them in canon apart from her dad being called Jack) Alicia's mum is a model/actress too and a bit of a snob, the one who wears the trousers in their house basically. Her dad, who's an English teacher, is the more open minded one, and while Alicia's mum loves her kids infinitely, is the most supportive and Alicia is super close to him, and very much like him. Bonus: Alicia's brother, who is 2 years older than her and are super close to one another, is a little bit of a mummy's boy and is a photographer.  
> Let me know if you enjoyed it?x


End file.
